A Must-Have for Every AmericanOur government is heading towards two nightmare scenarios that could put a “lock-down” on your money. To find out how you can safely (and legally) protect your wealth from whatever the government may try next, Bob Bauman has released an update to his most important financial book to date. Click here to learn more.

It is with some hesitancy that I write today, of all days, about expatriation – the act of intentionally and formally ending U.S. citizenship.

At 7:55 a.m. Hawaii Time, on December 7, 1941, the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan. President Franklin D. Roosevelt called it “a day that will live on in infamy.”

The Japanese surprise air attack was aimed at the U.S. Naval Base at Pearl Harbor on the island of Oahu. After two hours of bombing, …

Hugo Chávez is expected to be sworn in for his new presidential term on January 10. His most recent trip to Cuba for additional medical treatment, however, has again left Venezuelans guessing about his exact condition. The president secretly left Venezuela on Tuesday, November 27. And, unlike previous trips for cancer treatment, this time he offered no video footage or pictures -- keeping Venezuela in the dark for 10 days until abruptly reappearing Friday. Indeed, news of the president's whereabouts has been alarmingly scarce since he claimed victory in October.

Venezuelans were informed about the trip through a written statement released the same day at the National Assembly, where Chávez requested – and was granted – permission to leave the country for longer than five days.

In fact, since winning the election on October 7, he has significantly reduced his public appearances. Even after his return Friday morning, the president has not been seen in public since he led the Council …

Del Monte, which sells consumer and pet food, today (7 December) reported a 15% slide in first-half operating profit from its consumer business of US$56m.

Consumer food sales fell 0.1% to $875.5m after second-quarter revenue from the business decreased 2.3%. Del Monte said a shift in promotions and category "softness" hit consumer food volumes in the second quarter.

Overall, Del Monte reported net profit of US$35.9m for the first half of its financial year, compared to a $10.4m loss a year earlier, when costs from its sale to a consortium of private-equity firms hit its bottom line.http://www.just-food.com/news/h1-consumer-food-profits-down-at-del-monte_id121459.aspx?

The exit of Felipe Calderon from the Mexican presidency on December 1 marks the end of an era in the country's battles with organized crime. Now Enrique Peña Nieto must build his own strategy on top of the framework left behind by his predecessor.

The rate of increase in some of the more violence-wracked cities has been far more dramatic. Juarez, to take the most extreme example, was among the world's most violent cities from 2008 to 2011, and …

The U.S. economy created 146,000 new jobs as the unemployment rate fell to 7.7 percent in November, according to the latest jobs report. The BLS also released the following note concerning Hurricane Sandy:

Hurricane Sandy made landfall on the Northeast coast on October 29th, causing severe damage in some states. Nevertheless, our survey response rates in the affected states were within normal ranges. Our analysis suggests that Hurricane Sandy did not substantively impact the national employment and unemployment estimates for November.

The number of unemployed persons stayed mostly unchanged at 12 million. Also, the number of long-term unemployed (27 weeks or more) was little changed at 4.8 million – this counts for 40.1 percent of the unemployed. The U-6 unemployment figure, which is far more realistic than the U-3 rate the media loves, dropped .2 to 14.4 percent – its lowest level all year.

Mango picking has started in Carnarvon, but there are some growers who aren't happy saying if there's underripe fruit going to market the whole region gets hurt.Carnarvon's bigger growers usually start picking around Christmas, but there are a few growers who pick in early December chasing higher prices.

Gary Gibson is a mango grower in Carnarvon who says the early pick damages the fruit's reputation and ruins repeat sales.

"If people's fruit is ready that's OK, but if it's well and truly immature they should not pick it."http://www.abc.net.au/rural/wa/content/2012/12/s3650033.htm?site=northwestwa